School Days Series returns to Music Hall stage

Thursday

Aug 27, 2009 at 3:15 AM

Portsmouth — Top caliber affordable matinees are on tap as Education The Music Hall is ready for its 15th annual School Days Series.

The Music Hall has scheduled 18 performances that will entertain children from 80 Seacoast pre-K to middle school groups, home-schoolers and families. The 15th season features shows based on best selling books like Stellaluna, Pigeon Party! starring Mo Willems' Pigeon, science fun, the life of an American heroine-Harriet Tubman, and many wonderful new shows including touring companies direct from the UK and Canada.

The upcoming season is also filled with opportunities for teachers and other creative educators. For each School Days Series performance, The Music Hall offers detailed study guides available now at www.themusichall.org

School Days Series show at The Music Hall are only $5.

In addition to the popular School Days Series, Education The Music Hall also features the Masters in Learning program which offers in-depth, high-impact educational opportunities that are customarily enjoyed in larger metropolitan areas, which include master classes and performances with world-renowned Grammy, Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning artists, panel discussions, and meet-the-artist opportunities. All of The Music Hall signature series are interwoven with the Masters in Learning Program.

Teachers and home-schoolers can arrange the details of their class or home school visit by contacting Curtis at 433-3100 ext. 11. Space is limited so reserve soon! A deposit is required to reserve seats.

Room On The Broom, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.:

Just in time for Halloween. The witch and her cat are flying happily on their broomstick – until a stormy wind blows away the witch's hat, bow and wand. A helpful dog, bird and frog find the witch's lost things, and they all hop on the broom for a ride. But this broomstick's not meant for five. When a hungry dragon appears, who will save the poor witch? And will there ever be room on the broom for everyone? Adapted from Julia Donaldson's and Axel Scheffler's bestselling book. Songs, laughs and scary fun!

Mo Willems' Pigeon is back and ready to party! Squeezing all the fun of the first three Pigeon books into one raucous production, this lively show is full of fun, feathers, laughter and excitement and features original music and lots of audience participation. Can you stop Pigeon from driving the bus? Will he share the hotdog? And after all that, it's time for bed; the Bus Driver wants Pigeon to go to bed, all his friends want him to go to bed, but the question is — will you let him stay up late?!

Larger-than-life puppets and Victorian toys come to life in this familiar story with an unexpected twist. Grandfather, an elegant 8-foot gentleman enters the scene on a high-wheeler bicycle. Peter is only 8, but he is over six feet and rides a toy Victorian horse on wheels. (The wolf still thinks the show should be called The Wolf & Peter!) Next, it's The Sound Mall, an original story focusing on the science of music and sound, uses large scale masks and props to tell how the instruments came to be the size and shape they are in order to make the sounds they do.

Stellaluna

Kids' Entertainment, Thursday, Dec. 3, 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.:

When an owl attacks her mother, baby bat Stellaluna is knocked out of her loving grasp. The bewildered bat lands in a nest of baby birds, but her world has just turned upside down. Literally. Stellaluna's adoptive mom accepts her into her nest, but only if Stellaluna acts like a bird, so she quits hanging by her feet and starts eating bugs. But, when she shows her siblings what life as a bat is like, they're confounded. Anyone who has ever been asked to be someone they're not will understand the conflicts — and possibilities — Stellaluna faces.

Darwin, Wednesday, March 3, 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.:

Darwin is much more than a pet: he is a dinosaur — a wild and primitive creature. Though Darwin learns to take his first steps from his creator, he is, after all, a dinosaur. His animal instincts eventually take over and he has no choice but to succumb. In Darwin's explorations, he encounters many different types of living creatures, learning the value of both good and bad, love and hate, friends and enemies. What Darwin takes from these life lessons are up to him, and only he can decide his fate.

Click Clack Moo, Tuesday, March 23, 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.:

All day long Farmer Brown hears "click clack moo, clinkety clackety moo..." The cows are typing and protesting their working conditions! A hilariously "moo-ving" new musical about negotiation and compromise, based on the award-winning Caldecott Honor book by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin.

Blending science, history and entertainment, this show brings to life a warm, vibrant and uncannily realistic Albert Einstein who treats his guests to exciting demonstrations. He shows students, with their help on stage, how theories of relative motion and other fundamental concepts really work. The show, full of spontaneity and humor, is capped off with a lively Q&A.

Freedom Train, Tuesday, May 4, 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.:

Freedom Train tells the thrilling story of Harriet Tubman, the Moses of her people, in a fascinating series of highly theatrical scenes that use dance, dialogue, and music of the period. Freedom Train is the story of self-sacrifice, dedication and survival, laced with warmth and a sense of humor that celebrates the human spirit — a universal story for all.

Harry the Dirty Dog, Tuesday, May 18, 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.:

Harry has everything a little white dog with black spots could want. There's just one problem: he hates taking baths. He hates them so much, in fact, that one morning he runs away. After a wonderful day spent playing in the dirt, Harry gets so grubby that he turns into a little black dog with white spots…and returns home to find that his family doesn't recognize him!

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